HydroFlask has changed it's policy for the worse

[Tink rules]

I like some of the colors

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I wonder if any DISer has received a response among the myriad DISer letters/emails to Hydroflask. I just wonder if their scripted answer is being cut and pasted umpteen times of if their story is changing to be more insightful ... I don't know why but I always wonder why people/companies/dudes do what they do.

 

[Tink rules]

I haven't had a response at all...

 

[disneysteve]

I haven't had a response at all...

Me neither.

 

[thbath77]

I don't post often but this is an incredibly stupid business decision. The email just sounds arrogant and a total blow off. Sending my letter to Hydroflask now.

 

[rotlex]

This is very disturbing too read, especially coming from a company that I discovered through the DIS. I've recommended Hydro Flasks to dozens of friends, and probably bought at least a dozen myself for personal use, and more for gifts etc. I would have never even heard of, or tried their product if not for this site, and the podcast crew.

Definitely writing to the supplied address.

Thanks for the info Kevin.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I wonder if LL Bean made them sign some type of exclusivity agreement. You see stuff like that all the time. "Available exclusively at ... (insert name of store here)"

That would make sense. Financially it would likely be a "good" decision. LL Bean would be a huge distributor worldwide. It might not make sense loyalty wise but it would be a hard offer to turn down and I wouldn't be surprised if "Beans" had them sign such a contract...

 

[debsters41]

Anyone else envision the scene of At World's End: "It was just business..." as they blew up under cannon fire?

 

[JESBos]

Kevin,

You pointed out on the show today that the 5% contribution that Hydroflask made on DIS purchases was to GKTW. I just noticed that on their website, they don't list GKTW as one of their charities that people can contribute to anymore. It's one thing to diss the DIS, but that money that's no longer going to GKTW is a problem too.

Really bad decision.

 

[tjevans]

Kevin,

You pointed out on the show today that the 5% contribution that Hydroflask made on DIS purchases was to GKTW. I just noticed that on their website, they don't list GKTW as one of their charities that people can contribute to anymore. It's one thing to diss the DIS, but that money that's no longer going to GKTW is a problem too.

Really bad decision.

I guess I just don't see the problem with this. I mean, GKTW is probably the best charity there is, but as a business, it makes sense to donate to the charities that most closely align with your ideal customer. I think of hydro-flask, and I imagine their ideal customer is an outdoorsy-type person--a backpacker, hiker, bike rider--not theme park fans.

Likewise, I don't see a problem with hydro-flask limiting distributors. It's all part of branding. Going with my theory of their ideal customer, having their products limited to sporting goods channels more strongly associates the image of hydro-flask as a part of that lifestyle.

From the DIS's and Dreams' standpoint, it sucks. But sometimes in business, you do have to make decisions that will displease some customers to do what's best for the business in the long run.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I guess I just don't see the problem with this. I mean, GKTW is probably the best charity there is, but as a business, it makes sense to donate to the charities that most closely align with your ideal customer. I think of hydro-flask, and I imagine their ideal customer is an outdoorsy-type person--a backpacker, hiker, bike rider--not theme park fans.

Likewise, I don't see a problem with hydro-flask limiting distributors. It's all part of branding. Going with my theory of their ideal customer, having their products limited to sporting goods channels more strongly associates the image of hydro-flask as a part of that lifestyle.

From the DIS's and Dreams' standpoint, it sucks. But sometimes in business, you do have to make decisions that will displease some customers to do what's best for the business in the long run.

The consumer got to pick the charity their 5% went to and there was a huge list.

This is poor business decision in my opinion.

I am not an "outdoorsy" kinda guy and I feel some personal involvement with the sale of several thousand units.

What if you went to buy a car and you were told that you couldn't...because you don't fit the mold. You are not the "right kind of person"? Still okay? Still want to support that car maker?

You go the grocery store and go to buy the same bread you've bought for years and the grocery manager tells you that this bread is only for certain types of people. Still okay?

I can come up with a bunch more...but you get the idea.

 

[tjevans]

The consumer got to pick the charity their 5% went to and there was a huge list.

This is poor business decision in my opinion.

I am not an "outdoorsy" kinda guy and I feel some personal involvement with the sale of several thousand units.

What if you went to buy a car and you were told that you couldn't...because you don't fit the mold. You are not the "right kind of person"? Still okay? Still want to support that car maker?

You go the grocery store and go to buy the same bread you've bought for years and the grocery manager tells you that this bread is only for certain types of people. Still okay?

I can come up with a bunch more...but you get the idea.

I think you're comparing apples and oranges. Car manufacturers, for the most part, distribute through a dealership system. Most people have no direct contact with car manufacturers. Food manufacturers, again, for the most part, distribute through middlemen to retailers, and that is where most consumers get their food.

I think this situation is more akin to an artisinal bread maker that has found success. They were distributing to IGA, Piggly Wiggly, Publix, Sunflower, Wal-Mart, everyone who would buy. Now, however, the bread maker has decided to concentrate more on the upscale market, so they are only distributing to Whole Foods and other upscale grocers. I can understand the Publix, Sunflower, etc. being upset. But as for the consumers, the bread is still available, even if not through your retailer of choice.

I totally understand your feelings Kevin, and I would feel the same way in your shoes. Heck, I only bought two hydroflasks (from a local outdoors store) because I heard about them on the podcast. I have evangelized the brand to others, and that's ultimately attributable to you. I do believe they went about it the wrong way. I think instead of letting you know when you went to place a new order, they should have sent out a letter saying, "On x date, we will change our distributorship model, and will only be selling to y distributors after that date. Please place any final orders you want before that date."

I agree the way the decision was not carried out well. However, I can think of good, legitimate business reasons or the decision. (Whether they are the real reasons is another issue.)

 

[dis-happy]

The consumer got to pick the charity their 5% went to and there was a huge list.

This is poor business decision in my opinion.

I am not an "outdoorsy" kinda guy and I feel some personal involvement with the sale of several thousand units.

What if you went to buy a car and you were told that you couldn't...because you don't fit the mold. You are not the "right kind of person"? Still okay? Still want to support that car maker?

You go the grocery store and go to buy the same bread you've bought for years and the grocery manager tells you that this bread is only for certain types of people. Still okay?

I can come up with a bunch more...but you get the idea.

Actually, this happens in real life. The most expensive, newest Birkin bags aren't available to just anyone at the consumer level. Same thing with certain cars. That latest hot ipo? You'd better hope you're on the right list with your broker to be allowed to buy.

 

[dkostel]

I see that REI sells these as does Campmor so I don't think it is an exclusivity thing (unless they are just selling old stock). Their website features lots of active outdoorsy adults so they probably just don't want their product associated with theme park tourists (don't see kids on the web site).
This reminds me of when Perl Izumi had an ad campaign stating they are for runners not joggers. They are still in business but it had to hurt their bottom line.
Seems like something some new marketing genius would have come up with .

 

[GAN]

What if you went to buy a car and you were told that you couldn't...because you don't fit the mold. You are not the "right kind of person"? Still okay? Still want to support that car maker? You go the grocery store and go to buy the same bread you've bought for years and the grocery manager tells you that this bread is only for certain types of people. Still okay? I can come up with a bunch more...but you get the idea.

But there are hundreds if not thousands of examples where you can't buy direct from a manufacturer -they have Rep's and distributors that handle the direct sales for them. It sounds like this is what their decision amounted to ..possibly.

 

[disneysteve]

But there are hundreds if not thousands of examples where you can't buy direct from a manufacturer -they have Rep's and distributors that handle the direct sales for them. It sounds like this is what their decision amounted to ..possibly.

That's fine, so instead of Kevin being told he could no longer buy them, he should have been referred to the rep/distributor for his region that would now handle those orders. From what Kevin has posted (not to put words into his mouth), he wasn't told he couldn't buy them directly. He was told he couldn't buy them at all. That doesn't happen at a car dealer or a grocery store, to use his examples.

 

[UpstateMick]

It's A Water Bottle!

 

[mttmilner]

The consumer got to pick the charity their 5% went to and there was a huge list.

This is poor business decision in my opinion.

I am not an "outdoorsy" kinda guy and I feel some personal involvement with the sale of several thousand units.

What if you went to buy a car and you were told that you couldn't...because you don't fit the mold. You are not the "right kind of person"? Still okay? Still want to support that car maker?

You go the grocery store and go to buy the same bread you've bought for years and the grocery manager tells you that this bread is only for certain types of people. Still okay?

I can come up with a bunch more...but you get the idea.

First, they aren't saying you can't buy the product, they are saying you are no longer on the distribution list.

While you may feel involvement with the sale of several thousand units, that is an extremely small number when you consider their other distributors. That several thousand may be one order for REI, LL Bean, the PGA Superstore, Lukes Locker, Golfsmith, or the other stores they use.

At the end of the day, it is a business decision. I've seen posts in this thread that say it's sad that they don't appreciate the people that made them a success or that they will never buy or recommend them again. While I don't know the entire Hydroflask back story, I have a feeling that they didn't get into the big stores because of the thousands that were sold by a travel company in Florida.

Lastly, I find it extremely poor form to post his information and ask the people here to "let him know what you think". That screams of a petulant child not getting his way and reaffirms his decision that Dreams is not the type of company he wishes to be aligned with.

 

[Tink rules]

The stupid part on hydroflask is that you not only helped sell thousands of.them...but you provided a lot of free word of mouth advertising...They still advertise the custom feature...so if I wanted to buy a bunch for a company party...but I imagine I'd have to pay retail...

They don't seem to value the people who helped them on the way up...

 

[mttmilner]

The stupid part on hydroflask is that you not only helped sell thousands of.them...but you provided a lot of free word of mouth advertising...They still advertise the custom feature...so if I wanted to buy a bunch for a company party...but I imagine I'd have to pay retail...

They don't seem to value the people who helped them on the way up...

Again, saying that Dreams is the reason they are where they are today is like me saying that Starbucks is Starbucks because I visited there a lot in college. Dreams didn't help them win best new product at the PGA Merchandise show in 2012 or get into REI or LL Bean.

I mean, someone just posted on their Facebook page that Dreams has "hundreds of thousands" of people who will now not buy their product and said that they are going to need luck due to this decision. I'm sorry but I have a very difficult time believing that.

They made a business decision, pure and simple. I will agree, they could have sent out the information a better way. If you choose not to buy their product or voice that opinion to others, that's fine. Just please don't be under the illusion it is going to hurt them one bit.